As the resident “forever DM” of my social groups for the last 15 years, I’ve never had it so good.
Over the last couple of years, the world of tabletop gaming has seen an explosion of popularity. There are more options than ever before; everything from comic conventions to craft fairs sell dice and accessories; the United States Postal Service just dropped a collection of D&D-themed stamps; and streaming video services are full of people playing a massive variety of these games. At the core of this ever-expanding world of fun is Dungeons & Dragons, which is on its way to a dramatic and highly anticipated overhaul of its fifth-edition rulebook alongside its 50th anniversary. But the journey leading to that moment has been years in the making, reaching 2024 in ways few could have predicted even five years ago.
It’s a full-time job, keeping up with all of the amazing things the tabletop roleplaying game community is up to on a daily basis. In the last week alone, I’ve been delighted by a stream showing a game where you complete a heist in the style of the popular TV series Leverage, and an escape room-style mystery in Arkham Asylum. Two dramatically different experiences using a massive set of real-world puzzles and augmented reality on your phone. At the core of these experiences are clear indications of a Dungeons & Dragons heritage. The game that spawned a nearly infinite universe of ideas still very much occupies center stage, and while the reasons for this vary depending on who you ask, all of the answers have a central theme.
If you ask D&D SVP Dan Rawson, the biggest reason this game has continued to grow is a focus on accessibility. “The first I would say is D&D and the fifth edition of D&D, which we’re in, it’s more accessible than ever. I think a lot of barriers have come down to play in the game design. We’re going to strengthen the…
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